Freight car loading apparatus



July 11, 1939. G. M. REIFER er AL f 2,155,552

` FREIGHT CAR LoDING APrARATus Filed March 25, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 11 1939. G. M. REFER Er AL 2,165,652

FREIGHT cAn LOADING APPAnATus Filed March 25, 1937 4 sheets-sheet 2 V n www v Filed March 25, 1937 4 sheets-sheet :5

July 1'1, 1939.y c. M. REIFER er AL `FREIGHT CAR LOADING APPARATUS 4 Sh'eets-Sheet 4 Filed MarCh 25, 1937 MWA'- Y ure 1. ,Y i,30 Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Patented July 11, 1939 f FREIGHT Vcan,

aannames George M. Reiter, Rochester, Gleorgee-I v D. Shanahan, Detroit, Mich., assignorsl to Gen-4 i f1 `eral Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., afcl'lr-` y,

Doltionof Delaware d Applieatienmarehfzs, i937, serial Ne.'1s34` l This invention has to'do with apparatus for bracing freight in box cars and like convyances, ,andgparticularly with equipment of'this type *in which stanchions are mounted on guides extend- 5 ing along the side walls of the car to enable them toghe positioned where desired along its length kand in which braces are mounted for-vertical ad- :justment Von the stanchions to enable-them tol-be positioned 'at the height' desired to brace.A the 19 -freight in the car. The invention is an improve'- .ment-.on that dsclosed-iiithe prior 'Patent No.

and consists in theA provision -of improved guid stanchion `to thelow'er guide. The apparatus isl ,simple and inexpensivev tomanu'facture, and is' at .the same time very durable and adapted for fere with the loading of the car or tend to catch `loading. 1

In the drawings: bo'x car showing one of.

position. .v

Figur@ 1a is a section on line Ia--Ia of Fig- Figure 3 is a detail perspective view ofthe locking arrangement shown at thebottom of Figure'l'.

Figure 4 is a 'perspective view of one of the toothedl rclamping members carried by the stanchion.

Figurej' is a section on line 5-5 of Figurel. Figure 6 is a side View showing the methodrof securing the brace to the stanchion.

Figure'l is a perspective. view showing a modif* ed arrangement for locking the stanchion to the guide. f v

Figure 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Figure". Figure 9 isa side view with the guide in'section Showing another form of locking means for the lstanchion. f

Figure 10 is a view taken on line Ill- I of Figure 9.

l'Figure l1 is a section on linell-ll of Figure 10.

Figure -12 is a section corresponding to the upper part of Figure lllbut' showing the partsin locking position.

I0 indicates a portion of the side wall of a .55 freight car. Adjacent the top of the side wall is Figure. 1 is a side View of part of the wall of aV the stanehions'secured in nels.

' somewhat,.and `for that reason it isdesirable to have the portion 54 nea-r one endf of the stanchion f i a guide -preferably of `Z shape as shown in feFigureZ, providing a trackvvayy I4 for a pair of -rollers I6 carried `by a hanger `I8 having a shank MIS, as shown in FigureZ, passing vthroughiaper- Y tures in-,the channel-,shaped Tstanchion 20. v Nut 5 i ,t

22 prevents :separation :of the hanger from the., 1 I 'n stanchion. By this arrangement thev stanchion is supported for .rolling ,movement along the guideway 112,and whenfclesired the nut 2 2 may up toclamp the Astanchion 4tothe -l0 be "tightened guide.l "i .it i.

24 indicatesa 'guide secured adjacentzthe .bot-

1 tom ofthe side wall |05. Theguidezispreferably :ing means 'for the lower end of the stanchion" -15 and positive locking `means for locking' thej in theforme-ofA achannel-.shaped rolled Section provided with inwardly projectinganges 26;;1 ,V

-and outv'lardl'y` projecting toothed flanges 26;

slidemy mounted `on the outside ofthe yloo't-I ltom wall'of tHestanchion- N are clampingor .ef standardization.v It isalso characterized by the go absence of .projecting--'parts which might interlocking 'members "30 provided 'wim teeth 32 adapted to be lIx'ioved into'I locking engagement im with the teeth 28 and a flangepoiftion 34`engaging the inner sides of-theteeth to prevent latferal separation of the stanchion from theguide 24. The members Zware mounted on studs p36.

extending from blocks 38'to which are`v pivoted 2l 'of .these being 7""5 extended at 44 to `provide a handle.y

toggle 1evers Tan and 42, ue met The parts are shown in locked lpositionfn gures, but by swinging the handle 44` to dotted line position as shown in Figure 5.', the clamping and locking plates 30 may be withdrawn to the position shown in dotted lines in which the teeth l32. clear the teeth 281and the stanchion 120, Amay be rolled along the guides. moved to a position in which itis desired .to insert a braceto hold freight., and then by tightening upthe nut.-22 and moving the lever 44.- to the Afull lineposition shown in ,Figure 5, the. ,'stanchion may readily be locked in place`v .The stanchion is adapted to receive the ends of braces such as the metal braceshown at 46. in Figure .6. To accomplish'this -plate 4,8. isv provided bearingagainst the inner side vof the stanchion, the platev being aperturedto receive 4| i threaded into the clamp. By tightening up-thev bolt the plate 48 and clamp 50 are drawn together, gripping the anges 26 betweenwthem. 5g

The cutaway portion 54 is providedto' permit removal of the clamp 50 from within thecha'n- This, ofcourse, weakens the stanchionv The stanchionis where the force exerted onthe stanchion b modication the clamping and locking members are held in place by means of screw bolts 86 threaded into apertures in members 68 and 64. The screw bolts work in slots 68 formed in the bottom of the channel stanchion, and obviously by this arrangement the clamping and locking members may be held either` in `locked or in unlocked position.

This construction has the advantage of simplicity andeconomy, but lacks some of the convenience of the preferred form.

In Figures 9 to 12 there is shown a further modification in which the clamping and locking members 10 are preferably formed by bendingl over a strip of sheet metal, after first forming teeth 12 on one edge of the strip. The clamping and locking member cooperates with the teeth 28 on the guide 24 in the same manner as in the other views. ,To each of the clamping members 10 there is secured by rivet 14 the plate 16 having reduced ends 18 projecting through slots 88 formed in the .opposite legs of the stanchion. Springs 82 connect corresponding arms 18 and yieldingly tend to move the clamping and locking member 'I0 to 4locked position. indicates a flat spring secured centrally to the stanchion and having its ends adapted to engage the adjacent edges of plates 16 to hold the parts in unlocked position as shown in Flgure 11. The ends of the detent 84 may be readily withdrawn from latching engagement with plates 18 whereupon the springs 82 slide the members 'lll to locking position as shown in Figure 12.

The described arrangement is inexpensive and affords .a positive locking means to hold the stanchion where desired along the car wall.

Obviously, theinvention is capable of considerablemo'diilcation. Thus the same kindiof locking means used to hold the bottom of the stanchion to the lower guide might be employed to hold the plate 48 to the stanchion, thus providing a positive lock instead of the friction grip afforded by the clamp 58. Likewise the same locking arrangement could, if desired, be employed at the upper end of the stanchion as well as at the lower end. This would, however, necessitate the employment of a more expensive guide at the top. Obviously, also, in place of having the teeth 28 on the outer flanges of the channel guide 24 they could, if desired, be formed on the inner flanges with a corresponding. rearrangement of the locking members. However, this is not as desirable because it would require a larger guide rail or rails.

The invention is obviously applicable to the method of securing freight in various vehicles, although it has been especially designed for railway use.

Where the terms such as top", and bottom and the like have been used in the specification,

it is understood they are used in a relative sense only, and not in an absolute sense.

We claim:

1. In load bracing apparatus for box cars theA combination of a guide extending longitudinally o1 the side of the car, a stanchion, spaced clamps mounted on the stanchion and adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of the guide, said clamps being so constructed and arranged as to be movable toward or from each other along the stanchion so as to grip the guide between them and means for holding the clamps in locking engagement with theguide.

2. In load bracing apparatus for box cars the A combination of a guide extending longitudinally of the side of the car, a stanchion, spaced clamps mounted on the stanchion and adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of the guide, said clamps being so constructed and arranged as to be movable toward or from each other 'along the stanchion so as to grip the guide between them, means for holding the clamps in locking engagement with the guide, said stanchion being of channel shape with the clamps mounted on the back of the channel.

3. In load bracing apparatus for box cars the combination of a guide extending longitudinally of the side of the car, a stanchion, spaced clamps movably mounted on the stanchion and adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of the guide, and common operating means mounted on the stanchion for simultaneously moving the clamps to locking position.

4. In load bracing apparatus for box cars the combination of a guide extending longitudinally of the side of the car, a stanchion, spaced clamps movably mounted on the stanchion and adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of the guide, common operating means mounted on the stanchion for simultaneously moving the clamps to locking position, said stanchion being of channel shape with the clamps mounted on the back of the channel and the common operating means lying within the channel and having clamp engaging parts extending through slots in the back thereof.

5. In load bracing apparatus Afor box cars the combination of a guide extending longitudinally of .the side of the car, a stanchion, spaced clamps mounted on-the stanchion and adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of the guide, said clamps being so constructed and arranged as to be movable toward or from each other along the stanchion so as to grip the guide between them', means for holding the clamps in locking engagement with the guide, said clamps and guide being provided with teeth on their engaging portions adapted to be clamped in mesh with each other.

6. In-load bracing apparatus for box cars the combination of a guide extending longitudinally of the side of the car, a stanchion, spaced clamps movably mounted on the stanchion and adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of the guide, and a toggle mounted on the stanchion for simultaneously moving the clamps to locking position.

7. The combination of a guide extending longitudinally of the car wall having oppositely extending ilanges spaced from the car, a stanchion,

spaced members movably mounted on the' stanchion and having portions adapted to be moved to embrace the anges to prevent separation of the stanchion from the guide both laterally and longitudinally, said guide and members being provided with teeth adapted to intermesh to positively lock the stanchion against movement longitudinally of the guide, and toggle mechanism for simultaneously moving the members to locking position.

8. In load bracing apparatus for box cars the combination of spaced parallel guides secured to a wall of the car, a stanchion mounted on said guides, one of said guides having oppositely facingy teeth thereon, toothed members on said stanchion, each adapted to engage one of the s ets of teeth on the guide but normally out of contact therewith, and means for simultaneously producing relative movement of the teeth on the stanchion with respect to the teeth on the guide to cause the teeth to interlock and hold the stanchion againstdisplacement.

9. In load bracing apparatus for box cars and the like the combination o f spaced parallel guides secured to a wall of the car, a stanchion mounted on said guides, one of said guides having oppositely facing teeth thereon, toothed members on said stanchion arranged on opposite .sides of said last-named'guide, and common operating means for simultaneously moving the toothed members into engagement with the teeth lon the guide to hold the stanchion against displacement.

10. In the combination as defined in claim 9, the stanchion being of channeled section and the said operating means being housed within the channel.

11..In load bracingapparatus for box cars and the like the combination of spaced parallel guides secured to a `wall of the; car, a stanchion mounted on 'said guides, o ne of said guides being in the form of an outwardly facing channel provided with teeth on opposed legs thereof,

movable teeth carried by the stanchion and arranged on opposite sides of said teeth on the channelgand means for simultaneously moving the teeth on the stanchion into locking engagement with the teethon the guide to hold the stanchion `against movement longitudinally, and means associated with said teeth on the stanchion and movable therewith to engage the rear faces of teeth on the guide to prevent movement of the stanchion transversely of Asaid guide.

12. In load bracing apparatus for box cars and the like the combination' of' spaced parallel horizontal guides secured along the wall of a car,

one of said guides providing 1 a track, a stanchion, a roller mountedv o'n the stanchion and engaging the track to support the stanchion, the other guide being provided with oppositely facing teeth thereon, toothed members/on the stanchion adapted to engage the teeth( on the other guide, and means for simultaneously producing relative movement of the\ teeth on the stanchion with respect to the teeth on the other guide to bring them into engagement with the teeth on the guide.

. parts are in gripping engagement.

13. In load bracing apparatus for box cars and the like the combination of spaced parallel horizontal guides secured along the wall of the car, one of said guides providing a track, a stanchion, a roller-mounted on the stanchion and "engaging the track to support the stanchion, means for clamping the stanchion to the said guide, the other guide being provided with oppositely facing teeth thereon, toothed members on the stanchion adapted to engage the teeth on the other guide, and means for simultaneously producing relative movement of the teeth on the stanchion with respect to the teeth on the other guide to bring them into engagement with each other to hold the stanchion against displacement.

1 4. In load bracing apparatus for boxcars the combination of aguide extending along 'a car Wall and provided with flanges spaced from each other and from the car wall and parallel to said wall, a stanchion engaging said flanges, clampingA members on said stanchion having portions engaging behind said .anges when in clamping position to prevent lateral separation of the stanchion from the guide, said clamping 16. In load bracing apparatus for box cars the combination of a channel-shaped guide having its base securedto the car wall and provided with flanges extending outwardly frmfthe sides of the channel and parallel to the car wall, a stanchion engaging the said flanges, clamping members on said stanchion having portions engaging behind said ilanges when in clamping position to prevent lateral separation of the stanchion from the guide, said clamp members being'adjustable toward each other so as to grip the guide between l them, and means for locking the members in gripping engagement with the guide.

17. In the combination as defined in claim 16,

one of said anges having teeth thereon, and the corresponding clamping member having teeth thereon arranged between the said ilange engag- -ing portions and the stanchion adapted to interlock with the teeth on the flange when ythe GEORGE M. REIFER. GEORGE D. SHANAHAN. 

